It follows the decision by record companies to introduce new copy-protected CDs into the shops which are designed to function differently from normal CDs in that they allow the record companies to control consumers' usage of music. The new CDs are intended to prevent “ripping” of CDs by customers which enables re-distribution on file-sharing networks such as Gnutella or Aimster.
The CDR says that the new format curtails customers' choice as to which playback systems they may use and when, and prevents legal copying of music.
Most of the copy protection schemes involve the introduction of deliberate errors in the music or track data, which prevent the normal operation of particular types of CD players, specifically many CD-ROM drives, Playstations and DVD drives, all of which are used by consumers for listening to music. The CRR argues that these errors may decrease the durability of the disks, by increasing the vulnerability to scratches.
More disturbingly, according to the CDR, the use of some of the new breed of CDs is to be mediated via the internet:
“If a customer takes a CD controlled by the scheme marketed by US firm SunnCom out of an audio CD player and places it in her computer, she may find herself taken to an internet web site and required to trade her personal details in return for a ‘licence’ to listen to the music she believed she had already bought. In the event that a customer has no internet connection, or if the firm mediating access were to go bust, the CD would be rendered useless on a customer's computer.”
The CDR also claims that the protection mechanisms can easily be circumvented by those intent on doing so, while innocent consumers have no way to restore the sound quality, repair damaged CDs or avoid the inconvenience these measures impose.
Julian Midgley, Leader of the UK Campaign for Digital Rights, said:
"If the record industries want to experiment with copy protection, let them do so in their laboratories, and not at the expense of the general public. And if they want to sell these CDs, let them make the warning labels prominent and truthful."
The UK Campaign for Digital Rights will be compiling a database of all affected titles, and asks anyone who comes across a CD that won't play successfully on their equipment to send details to [email protected].